by Martin Davie
Introduction
One of the developments that has taken place in the Church of England in recent years is the appointment of ‘lead bishops’ who have responsibility for particular issues. One of these lead bishops is the Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, who is the Lead Bishop for the Living in Love and Faith process (LLF).
As a result of his experience in this role, which has involved both listening to those with different views of this process and what its outcome should, and trying to steer the process as it moves forward, he has now written a short book entitled Can we imagine a future together? Intercultural lessons for Living in Love and Faith.[1]
As he explains in his introduction to this book, as a result of listening to different parties and spending hours trying to steer the LLF process he has:
‘… come to a view which I hope offers some inspiration for a possible way forward together.
That view can be summarised as:
1. We’ve not yet reached the point of separation – or even living in separate rooms.
2. So, we are in a season of discernment. Given our profound disagreements, can we imagine a new future together?
3. This season will require prayer, listening and practical active kindness as we reimagine how we serve a divided society and proclaim the Good News.
4. There are models available to us from other fields which might help us re imagine. One is called ‘interculturalism’ and the other ‘gift exchange.’ This booklet is an attempt to set out how they might help.’[2]
In this response to Bishop Martyn’s book, I shall explain why I and other conservative Anglicans have serious problems with these four points even though there are parts of them with which we would agree.
We’ve not yet reached the point of separation – or even living in separate rooms.